The Panel : Marina Shtatina, Alexey Kojemiakov, Elisabeth Donovan, Fedor Filippov, Igor Zvecharovsky, Frank Walterson, Mathieu Chardon
A seminar in two times
A few weeks after the seminar of Kaluga (see our article in this magazine), the Council of Europe, under the cane of Alexey Kojemiakov, Head of the private law Department at the Directorate-General I (Legal Affairs) of the Council of Europe, took part in an important seminar on the training of Judicial Officers in Russia at the headquarters of the Russian Legal Academy (RLA) in Moscow. Like the precedents, this seminar enters within the framework of the joint program between the European Commission and the Council of Europe for the Russian Federation. Three international experts were solicited by the Council of Europe: Mathieu Chardon, Judicial Officer, member of the Committee of the UIHJ, of which it was the sixth mission in Russia since 2000 for the Council of Europe, Elisabeth Donovan, Barrister in Dublin (Ireland) and Frank Walterson, senior adviser at the ministry of Finances of Sweden.
This seminar proceeded in two times. The first day consisted of a whole of masterly presentations followed by debates in one of the vast amphitheatres of the RLA in Moscow, in front of a hundred participants, composed of Judicial Officers heads of department of the various areas of the Russian Federation, magistrates and professors of university. In his speech of introduction to the seminar, Alexey Kojemiakov, insisted on the importance of the training of the Judicial Officers as a guarantee of a fair and effective enforcement of court decisions. He recalled in this respect the recommendation Rec(2003) 17 of the Committee of the Ministers of the Council of Europe to the Member States adopted on September 9, 2003.
Recommendation 17, ethics and training
Igor Zvacharovsky, rector of the RLA, was particularly happy to welcome within his academy the Judicial Officers of which he recalled it was in charge of the training.
Elisabeth Donovan presented in detail Recommendation 17 of the Council of Europe and insisted in particular on the point IV.8, which lays out that the enforcement agents should follow an initial and continuous training in accordance with goals and objectives clearly defined and structured.
Frank Walterson continued by evoking the principles and the standards relating to the attitude of the Judicial Officers within the framework of the enforcement of court decisions.
Mathieu Chardon then presented the principles, the organization and the methods of training for the Judicial Officers and their personnel. He in particular presented the French National School of Procedure, recognized on the international level in the area of training of the employees of Judicial Officers and the candidates Judicial Officers and the many courses which it offers to its students.
A round table was then held, where many very relevant questions were put about the occupation of liberal Judicial Officers in Europe and in particular in France and in the Benelux countries, testifying to the great interest of our Russian colleagues for a statute adopted by always more European countries.
The seminar continued with a very interesting intervention of Mrs Marina Shtatina, head of department at the Management of justice, on the psychological elements of management relating to the activities of the Head Judicial Officers. The day was completed after a new round table on the methods of training for the profession.
The development of training for the Russian Judicial Officers
The second day proceeded in a more restricted committee. A score of participants, amongst whom the experts of the Council of Europe and Mr. Kojemiakov, found themselves with the head office of the RLA to discuss various problems encountered by the chiefs Judicial Officers of the various areas of the Russian Federation. The RLA deals with the training of Judicial Officers since 1998, date on which the Enforcement Department was separated from the courts. The Department of Judicial Officers in the Russian Federation acts in two spheres of activities: enforcement of court decisions and enforceable titles, and the maintenance of law and order in the courts, including leading physically the citizens to appear before the judge. Currently, the trainings proceed over one period of two weeks, but it appears that that is not sufficient. Mr. Alexander Gerasimov, chief of the Department of the Enforcement Department, is in charge of the development of the training schemes and would wish to set up a longer duration for the programs, which is not possible for the moment for reasons of organization and a budgetary nature.
Some regional training centres exist however but, to take account of the gigantic size of the country, it would be necessary to set up some in each area, which takes time and requires an important financing. But, in each area, training seminars are already set up. Let us recall that there are currently approximately 45 000 Judicial Officers for the whole of the Russian Federation and that it is envisaged to double this figure! New training courses are being studied and Mr. Gerasimov started a discussion with the Council of Europe experts on this subject. He indicated that it was not possible to carry out training courses on two years, as it is the case in particular in France, but that three or four weeks were desirable in a realistic way. Mr. Gerasimov also announced that preliminary university diploma was going to become obligatory.
A bringing together with the French National School of procedure
In front of the general enthusiasm for the training and the implication of the RLA, Mathieu Chardon suggested a bringing together between the RLA and the French National School of procedure. Mr. Zvecharovsky said he was very interested by this proposal and wished to organize a meeting in Paris with the persons in charge for the French school in spring 2006.
After these two enthralling days, Mr. Kojemiakov declared himself very satisfied with the outcomes of the debates. He indicated that the RLA was an ideal place of meeting to exchange the ideas and that the European experience could be useful for the Russian Federation. Mr. Kojemiakov thanked all the participants and specially Mr. Fedor Filippov, director of the RLA, who had perfectly ensured the organization of this seminar... which already calls for others!
35 years of the Russian Legal Academy
The year 2005 saw the 35th birthday of the RLA. This academy is the successor since 1991 of the Advanced Unified Institute for Legal Agents, created in 1970. Today, the RLA is the training Centre and an institution for the ministry for the Justice of the Russian Federation. The Academy includes 141 professors. The RLA includes a Law Faculty, a unit preparing to doctoral studies, a centre of continuous training as well as a school of initiation to the Law. Three buildings are in Moscow, adding up 15 000 m ², a campus and accommodation for students. Approximately 2000 students follow the training of the RLA each year in Moscow. On the whole of the territory, the academy teaches to approximately 15 000 students. The RLA publishes two reviews, a scientific magazine and a more practical review, Justice, founded in 2005. The students who leave the ADFR do not have in theory any difficulty in finding work within a jurisdiction, in the police force or other administrations.
Interview of Mr. Igor Zvecharovsky, rector of the Russian Legal Academy
Mr. Zvecharovsky, you are the rector of the RLA. What was your course and when were you appointed at this high position?
I completed my higher education in 1984 at the Law Faculty of Irkoutsk. During a time, I worked at a prosecutor's office. From 1984 to 1987, in parallel to this, I followed a course at the University of Leningrad at the department of criminal law. Then, until 1996, I taught as a professor and head of department at the University of Irkoutsk, then as a head of Chair. Until 2001, I was appointed rector of the legal Institute of the General Attorneys. From 2001 to 2004, I was appointed vice-rector then 1st vice-rector of the RLA. I became rector since September 2004. My speciality is criminal law and criminology.
What is the importance of the international legislation for the RLA compared to the legislation concerning Judicial Officers?
An article of the Constitution lays out that the international legislation and the international law of the contracts are directly applicable in the national legislation. That is fundamental for the Russian legislation and the rules apply fully.
Do you have contacts with other countries in the field of exchange co-operation?
We have cooperation agreements with the University of Toulouse (France). Our contacts are excellent. Groups of students went to Toulouse and obtained a university diploma there. We have other contacts, in London and Salzburg, but they are more professional. We also are in relation with universities in Finland, in Germany, in Austria, in Canada and in Poland. These are new contacts.
Do you think that the RLA can take part, through training, in the harmonization of the profession of Judicial Officer in Europe and in the rest of the world?
There is no doubt about this point. We have many points of divergence. Yesterday, Mathieu Chardon indicated to us that in France, there are 3 200 Judicial Officers for a population of 60 million inhabitants. In Russia, there are 45 000 Judicial Officers for a population of only 146 million inhabitants. That would mean, on first thoughts, that our system is not effective and is very expensive. But we cannot make this type of comparison. Our motivations are different. Our situations are different. Our objectives are different and sometimes our measurements are different. Judicial Officers here are civil servants, organized within a federal service. But we also have the will to belong to the international legal standards. We hope for that that our international contacts will be very useful.
